How are India's overtures in the Indo-Pacific complemented

Today, the salience of the Indo-Pacific region has struck the strategic consciousness of the world community. This is chiefly because of the simmering dispute over Taiwan and Beijing’s aggressive posture in the South and East China Seas, especially with respect to the small island nations of the western Pacific. The Sino-American rivalry for dominance in these waters and the Chinese propensity to carry out ‘grey zone’ operations against US maritime forces and its allies have further sharpened focus on the Indo-Pacific.

Much of the Indo-Pacific region lies to the east of India. This region is of vital interest to India for many reasons. Most importantly, it is the gateway to the Indian Ocean from the east with crucial trade and security implications. India has traditional trade, cultural and religious linkages with many countries of southeast Asia and east Asia. There is a large Indian diaspora in this region and relations with ASEAN as a grouping and ASEAN countries individually have been on the upswing. The Indian Navy has been exercising with navies of the region for several years, including the Malabar series of exercises with the United States navy. These exercises have sometimes been conducted in the Bay of Bengal or in the western Pacific.

Having realised the importance of this region, especially its maritime and security interests, India enunciated its ‘Look East’ policy in the early 1990s, aiming at a fundamental shift in focus from the west to the east. India’s engagements with countries in southeast Asia and beyond were enhanced, mostly in the domains of trade and commerce. These overtures were complemented with the use of the Indian Navy as a diplomatic tool. The year 2014 saw this ‘Look East’ policy transform into the ‘Act East’ policy that signalled an active shift towards engagement and involvement in the Indo-Pacific.

The biggest workhorse of the Indian state towards fleshing out the ‘Look and Act East’ policies has been the Navy. It has been relentlessly engaging with our eastern partners in diverse ways, ranging from maritime military cooperation at one end to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at the other. This, however, is an unsung story that every Indian must be told.

Starting with maritime security, the Indian Navy is the gatekeeper to the west of the Malacca Strait, continuously deployed to ensure safety of trade and monitor vessels that enter or leave the Indian Ocean region. The Andaman and Nicobar Command’s naval component undertakes regular surveillance around the islands to prevent activities against Indian interests. Coordinated naval patrols with Bangladesh, Thai and Indonesian navies have been institutionalised to enhance interoperability and safeguard common interests. The Navy routinely conducts maritime partnership exercises with several countries, such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, in bilateral or multilateral formats. The maiden ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise was conducted jointly by Singapore and India in May 2023 in the waters off Singapore. The cumulative effect of such engagements is substantial.

As part of long-range overseas deployments, Indian naval ships, submarines and aircraft operate across the Indo-Pacific as far as Japan, Hawaii and Australia. These opportunities are also utilised as flag-showing visits for diplomatic outreach and to enhance people-to-people contact as well as cultural exchanges. The naval component of such outreach missions includes training exchanges, subject-matter expert exchanges, exercises with host navies and showcasing Indian defence capability and naval expertise.

As one of the largest and most capable navies in the region, the Indian Navy has contributed substantially to capability building of smaller maritime neighbours by providing platforms and equipment for their navies, depending on their specific needs. Mobile training and repair teams are deployed upon requests from the host countries, thus contributing to the recipient country’s skill development. India’s world-leading expertise in the field of hydrography is utilised effectively for maritime surveys and cartographic assistance to friendly foreign countries.

The Indian Navy prides itself at being the first responder in the region as a maritime force for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Its ships are deployed in ‘mission-ready condition’, which enables them to respond to any situation across the spectrum of operations. The Navy’s contribution in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, earthquakes, cyclones and the ferrying of huge amounts of relief supplies during the pandemic were tasks undertaken silently with utmost professionalism and sense of the common good.

Spare a moment to applaud the men and women in whites who are the real karma yogis of India’s ‘Look and Act East’ policies.